Probiotics are bacteria which confer health benefits to a host. Typically, cultures of probiotic bacterial strains are consumed or administered to individuals in order to supplement the naturally occurring bacteria population of the gut. A number of health benefits have been associated with probiotics, including reducing the incidence of cancer, diarrhoea and irritable bowel syndrome to name a few. Preliminary studies also indicate that probiotics can be useful in reducing serum levels of cholesterol and blood pressure and help modulate diabetes.
Lactobacilli are common probiotics in dairy products and make up approximately 75% of probiotics currently sold. However, it has been estimated that only 2% of Lactobacilli dose survives be effective in the gut.
Prebiotics are dietary ingredients which can selectively enhance beneficial indigenous gut microbiota, such as lactobacilli or bifidobacteria, and are finding much increased application into the food sector. Prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients that are selectively metabolised by colonic bacteria which contribute to improved health. As such, their use can promote beneficial changes within the indigenous gut microbial milieu and they can therefore help survivability of probiotics. They are distinct from most dietary fibres like pectin, celluloses, xylan, which are not selectively metabolised in the gut. Criteria for classification as a prebiotic is that it must resist gastric acidity, hydrolysis by mammalian enzymes and gastrointestinal absorption, it is fermented by intestinal microflora and selectively stimulates the growth and/or activity of intestinal bacteria associated with health and well-being.
Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS, inulin and oligofructose) and galactooligosaccharides (GOS) have been demonstrated to fulfil the criteria for prebiotic classification repeatedly in human intervention studies. Currently, no prebiotic for Lactobacilli exists.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a prebiotic composition which allows for the specific growth of a given probiotic bacteria. It would also be desirable if the prebiotic targeted a beneficial strain of prebiotic such as a Lactobacilli. A yet further object of the present invention is to provide a screening method to identify and produce prebiotic compositions which are selective for certain probiotic bacterial strains.